Musings and Snippets from a recently retired JP. I served for 31 years, mostly in west London. I was Chairman of my Bench for some years, and a member of the National Bench Chairmen's Forum All cases are based on real ones, but anonymised and composited. All opinions are those of one or more individuals. JPs swear to enforce the law of the land, whether or not they approve of it. Nothing on here constitutes legal advice.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Simple Pieman - or Flans For The Memory

The publicity-seeking idiot who assaulted Rupert Murdoch in a Parliamentary hearing has been given a prison sentence by DJ Daphne Wickham (the Deputy Chief Magistrate).

We can all form our own assessment of the seriousness of the offence. On the one hand there was no physical injury, although simply frightening an 80 year-old can have its dangers. The attack took place in Parliament, which is an affront to our democracy, in which Parliament is supposed to be the fount of reasoned and civilised debate. It was premeditated and potentially dangerous items were smuggled past security - mercifully they were harmless. So perhaps the sentence isn't miles out, but of course six weeks means three, which means 21 days. Given current practice an offender who was not in the public eye like this bloke would be home in a couple of weeks or less, on a tag. Some prisons wouldn't even take him in for such a short stretch.

Any bets on when he gets out? Because of his fame, it could be almost three weeks. But if the prison is under a bit of pressure (plenty of officers are on holiday in August) he could be back home this time next week.

By the way - another paper reports that he was ordered to pay a 'victim' surcharge of £15. I have never heard of that being imposed where there was no fine.

What The Papers Said

40 Bloggers That Really Count (Times)There are 30,000 or so unpaid magistrates across England and Wales. For five years, one of them has anonymously detailed the cut and thrust of the job, providing a grimly funny insight into Britain’s sinful underbelly with the same feel and tone as a Hogarth or Dickens.